No justification for further delay in signing CTBT: Ban

There are no justifiable grounds for further delay in achieving the great goal of having all States ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, allowing it to come into force.

That's what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday in a message for the Fourth Observance of the International Day against Nuclear Tests. He said "it is time to avert any more of the horrific human and environmental effects caused by nuclear tests through a global ban, the most reliable means possible to meet this challenge".

The Secretary-General noted that although twenty years have passed since the Conference on Disarmament began negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), this treaty has still not entered into force.

Secretary-General Ban once again urged all States to sign and ratify the CTBT without further delay. He said the eight remaining States whose ratifications are necessary for the Treaty to enter into force have a special responsibility; none should wait for others to act first.

In the meantime, he called on all States to maintain or implement moratoria on nuclear explosions. The Secretary-General concluded that "as we mark this International Day against Nuclear Tests, let us work together to end nuclear weapons testing and achieve a world free of nuclear weapons".